SINGER

Billy Preston

1946 - 2006

Photo of Billy Preston

Icon of person Billy Preston

William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles "That's the Way God Planned It", the Grammy-winning "Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", "Space Race", "Nothing from Nothing", and "With You I'm Born Again". Additionally, Preston co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful", which became a hit for Joe Cocker. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Billy Preston is the 523rd most popular singer (down from 343rd in 2019), the 3,221st most popular biography from United States (down from 1,988th in 2019) and the 171st most popular American Singer.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Billy Preston by language

Loading...

Among SINGERS

Among singers, Billy Preston ranks 523 out of 4,381Before him are Dusty Hill, Ceca, Lola Novaković, Anne Sofie von Otter, Juan Gabriel, and Darío Moreno. After him are Patrick Hernandez, Séverine, Brandy Norwood, Dinah Washington, Mari Boine, and Marek Grechuta.

Most Popular Singers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1946, Billy Preston ranks 231Before him are Ruth Fuchs, Tom Savini, Michael Radford, Matthieu Ricard, André Dussollier, and Eduardo Camaño. After him are Antony Beevor, Toktar Aubakirov, Ti Lung, Héctor Lavoe, Dan McCafferty, and Shujaat Hussain. Among people deceased in 2006, Billy Preston ranks 118Before him are Te Atairangikaahu, Elizabeth Bolden, John Money, Coretta Scott King, Marie Tharp, and Faas Wilkes. After him are Allen Carr, Marek Grechuta, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Jurij Brězan, Esther Lederberg, and Alberto Spencer.

Others Born in 1946

Go to all Rankings

Others Deceased in 2006

Go to all Rankings

In United States

Among people born in United States, Billy Preston ranks 3,221 out of 20,380Before him are Joel Asaph Allen (1838), Barbara Kruger (1945), Bill Viola (1951), Winsor McCay (1867), Russ Meyer (1922), and Joan Bennett (1910). After him are Harlan Ellison (1934), Karen Black (1939), Joe Rantz (1914), Sally Ride (1951), Keith Carradine (1949), and Horace Parnell Tuttle (1837).

Among SINGERS In United States

Among singers born in United States, Billy Preston ranks 171Before him are Johnny Rebel (1938), Natalie Cole (1950), Randy Newman (1943), Brenda Lee (1944), Bobby Brown (1969), and Dusty Hill (1949). After him are Brandy Norwood (1979), Dinah Washington (1924), Mos Def (1973), KRS-One (1965), Tracy Chapman (1964), and Neil Sedaka (1939).